Governor Cooper Announces State Boards and Commissions Appointments

Today, Governor Roy Cooper announced appointments to boards and commissions.

"I'm glad to appoint more Hispanic and Latino leaders to my boards and commissions, including Catty Moore to the North Carolina State Board of Education and the new members of the Governor's Advisory Council on Hispanic and Latino Affairs," said Governor Cooper. "We're going to continue to uplift diversity in all of our state agencies and departments."

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following member to serve on the North Carolina State Board of Education:

• Catty Quiroz Moore of Monroe as an at-large member. Moore recently retired after more than 35 years with the Wake County Public School System as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, deputy superintendent, and finally superintendent for her last five years with the system. She has previously been named the Wake County Principal of the Year, the North Carolina Central Region Principal of the Year, the North Carolina PTA Superintendent of the Year, and the Magnet Schools of America National Superintendent of the Year.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina Post-Release Supervision & Parole Commission:

• Gregory K. Moss, Jr. of Youngsville as a full-time commissioner. Moss joins the Commission after serving as an Associate General Counsel for Governor Cooper since January of 2020. Before joining the Governor’s Office, Moss was a law clerk for judges at the United States District Court and the Supreme Court of North Carolina and a voting rights attorney for the Southern Coalition for Social Justice.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following member to serve on the North Carolina State Board of Agriculture:

• Casey McDaniel Armstrong of Enfield as an active member of the equine industry. Armstrong is a horse show coordinator for shows across North Carolina. She has served on the North Carolina Horse Council Board of Directors since 1998 and has previously served as president of the board. She was also the chair of the Hunt Horse Complex Advisory Committee.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina Brain Injury Advisory Council:

• Dr. Patricia Kay Reyna of Liberty as a family member of a person with a brain injury. Dr. Reyna is a researcher at the Center on Brain Injury Research and Training at the University of Oregon, whose research interests focus on law enforcement officers, fire fighters, veterans, and other first responders who have sustained traumatic brain injury, post concussive syndrome, and catastrophic injury in the line of duty in the United States.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina Child Care Commission:

• Connie Rodgers of New Bern as a for-profit family childcare home provider. Rodgers has been a childcare provider for over 20 years. She is experienced in engaging children through activities, teaching good cognitive, physical, and language skills, and providing emotional support and guidance to children.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the Justus-Warren Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Task Force:

• Katherine Combs of Raleigh as a member of the Eat Smart, Move More North Carolina program. Combs is an Association Community Health Director at the YMCA of the Triangle. Combs is the former Community Impact Director at the American Heart Association and has worked in several health and wellness positions at different YMCAs.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the Governor's Advisory Council on Hispanic/Latino Affairs:

• The Honorable Ricky Hurtado of Mebane as a member at-large and chair. Hurtado is a former educator and non-profit practitioner, having served as an instructor at UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Education and co-founding LatinxEd, an organization to advance education equity and Latino leadership. He is also the former State House Representative for House District 63 in Alamance County, becoming the first Latino Democrat to ever serve in the North Carolina General Assembly.
• Jodie Stanley of Jamestown as a member at-large and vice-chair. Stanley is the International Support and Language Access Coordinator for the City of Greensboro, where she implemented a bilingual pay incentive program.
• Dr. Luis F. Alvarez Caicedo of Wake Forest as a member at-large. Dr. Alvarez is a chiropractic physician and co-founder of ChiroDuo and Mi Alivio Natural, two companies that focus their efforts on serving the Hispanic/Latino population through their mobile clinic framework.
• M. Stefanía Arteaga of Charlotte as a member at-large. Arteaga is the Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of the Carolina Migrant Network.
• Javiera Caballero of Durham as a member at-large. Caballero is the first Latinx Durham City Council Member and has advocated for shifts in policy that impact immigrant communities including language access for all Durham residents and stakeholders.
• Javier Correa-Vega of Winston-Salem as a member at-large. Correa-Vega is the Language Access Coordinator for the Hispanic Community for the City of Winston-Salem. Correa-Vega has over 16 years of experience working in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools and community.
• Lizette Cruz Watko of Raleigh as a member at-large. Cruz Watko is the Founder and Executive Director of the Diamante Arts and Cultural Center.
• Pablo Friedmann of Durham as a member at-large. Friedmann is the Director of Durham Public Schools’ Multilingual Resource Center. Friedmann also serves on the Board of Directors for Student U and LATIN-19.
• M. Victoria Garcia of Durham as a member at-large. Garcia is President and CEO for the Latino Community Credit Union.
• Lariza Garzón of Charlotte as a member at-large. Garzón is the Director of North Carolina and MidSouth Operations at the Hispanic Federation. She is the former Director of Community Education for the Farmworker Unit at Legal Aid of North Carolina.
• Bruno Youzimark Hinojosa Ruiz of Asheville as a member at-large. Hinojosa Ruiz is the Co-Director of CIMA (Compañeros Inmigrantes de las Montañas en Acción), an immigrants’ rights organization in Western North Carolina. He began organizing in North Carolina in 2010 as an undocumented person with Nuestro Centro, a grassroots organization.
• Norma Martí of Raleigh as a member at-large. Martí is retired from her role at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Division of Public Health with 25 years of experience in addressing issues of Latinx/Hispanic health equity, with a focus on engaging and connecting immigrant, refugee, and other historically marginalized populations to state programs. Martí was called back to work in the Office of the Secretary at NC DHHS as the Latinx/Hispanic Community Liaison from June 2020 through June 2021 to address Latinx COVID infections and engagement.
• Prudencio Martinez-Mengel of Kinston as a member at-large. Martinez-Mengel is the Director of Latino Outreach and Recruitment at Lenoir Community College. Martinez-Mengel is also a trained medical Spanish Interpreter.
• María J. Mayorga of Jamestown as a member at-large. Mayorga is the Latinx Civic Engagement Coordinator at Blueprint NC and has more than fifteen years of experience in nonprofit management.
• Marimer Rodriguez McKenzie of Wilmington as a member at-large. McKenzie is the Diversity and Equity Outreach Coordinator for New Hanover County. She is also a volunteer case worker at the Harrelson Center’s Help Hub.
• Tiffany Marie Oliva of Greensboro as a member at-large. Oliva is the Director of Intergovernmental Affairs and Strategic Initiatives for the City of Winston-Salem and is the first Latina on the City’s Executive Leadership team. Oliva is the former Executive Director of Pupusas 4 Education, a program providing scholarships to undocumented students in Wake, Orange, and Durham counties.
• The Honorable Lou Olivera of Fayetteville as a member at-large. Judge Olivera has been a District Court Judge in Cumberland County since November 2012. Judge Olivera is the first Hispanic person to be elected to any judgeship in North Carolina.
• Yesenia Pedro Vicente of Cary as a member at-large. Vicente is the Assistant Director of Student Access, Success, and Engagement in the University Office for Diversity and Inclusion at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Yesenia is the proud daughter of Maya immigrants from Guatemala.
• Eliazar Arturo Posada, Jr. of Carrboro as a member at-large. Posada is the Organizing Director of Equality North Carolina and a council member for the Town of Carrboro. Posada became the first openly LGBTQ Latino elected in North Carolina after winning a special election on May 17, 2022.
• Dr. JuanEs Ramírez of Hickory as a member at-large. Dr. Ramírez is the State Representative for Spanish Services at the College Foundation of North Carolina.
• Federico Rios of Charlotte as a member at-large. Rios is the Senior Vice President for the Robinson Center for Civic Leadership at the Foundation for the Carolinas. Rios previously served as the Assistant Director of the Office of Equity, Mobility, and Immigrant Integration in the City of Charlotte.
• Juvencio Rocha-Peralta of Greenville as a member at-large. Rocha-Peralta is the Executive Director and Founder of the Association of Mexicans in North Carolina, Inc.
• Iliana Santillán of Raleigh as a member at-large. Santillán is the Executive Director of El Pueblo and La Fuerza NC.
• Elaine Townsend Utin of Durham as a member at-large. Utin is the Co-founder and Executive Director of LatinxEd. Utin has also been recognized on Forbes’s 30 Under 30: Education list for her work in creating pathways to educational, professional, and civic engagement opportunities for new generations of Latinx leaders.
• Daniel Valdez of Charlotte as a member at-large. Valdez is the Chief External Affairs Officer at Welcoming America and has over 15 years of nonprofit management experience. Valdez previously served as the North Carolina and Mid-South Director for the Hispanic Federation.
• William J. Vásquez of Wake Forest as a member at-large. Vásquez is an attorney specializing in immigration, criminal defense, personal injury, and workers’ compensation, who has successfully assisted thousands of immigrants in achieving documented status in the United States.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina Marriage and Family Therapy Licensure Board:

• Dr. Jeffrey Krepps of Raleigh as a marriage and family therapist. Dr. Krepps is the Director of Behavioral Health Education at Campbell University’s School of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Krepps was previously an Adjunct Professor in the Marriage and Family Therapy Graduate Program at Pfeiffer University.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina Plant Conservation Board:

• Dr. Matt C. Estep of Boone as a representative of the botanical, scientific community in North Carolina. Dr. Estep is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at Appalachian State University, where he has taught since 2012. Dr. Estep has been a Tater Hill Plant Preserve Conservation Steward since 2015 and is also the Treasurer of the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission:

• The Honorable James D. Gailliard of Rocky Mount as a public member not licensed to practice law. Gailliard is the Organizing and Senior Pastor of Word Tabernacle Church in Rocky Mount. Gailliard previously served two consecutive terms in the North Carolina House of Representatives representing Nash County.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the Task Force for Safer Schools:

• Mary Kathryn Poole of Raleigh as a high school student currently enrolled at a public high school. Poole is a freshman at Broughton Magnet High School. She volunteers her time at several charity organizations including the North Carolina Food Bank, Design for Joy, Wake and Read, and the Helen Wright Center.
• Caleb Lofton of Charlotte as a high school student currently enrolled at a public high school. Lofton is a freshman at Myers Park High School.

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